Are you 'stuck between a rock and a hard place?'

Are you 'stuck between a rock and a hard place?'

Advisors working for the big banks and brokerage firms have their backs against the wall, according to one Toronto advisor.

Responding to a recent CBC Marketplace investigation – which reported that Canadian investors are receiving “inaccurate, misleading and inappropriate advice," particularly during RRSP season – Lynda Weinrib, investment funds advisor with Worldsource Financial Management, Inc., told WP that many advisors have no choice but to act as salespeople to keep their jobs.

“There is so much conniving out there,” she said. “There are very, very few people in this industry who are not trying to keep up with the Jones’; therefore they have to make the sales.”

Weinrib - who admitted leaving a dealership, herself, many years ago to avoid the "temptation" to sell - said that many dealers restrict their advisors to selling specific in-house products, while banning other fund-management products. A certain income must also be generated, or advisors risk losing their jobs, she said.

“The reality is, most dealerships or brokerage firms are really trying to get people to sell, trying to get people to bring more money in,” she said. “(Advisors) are stuck between a rock and hard place because they’ve got to put the roof over their heads, (keep up with) the mortgage payments, put food on the table for the kiddies and everything else.” (continued.)

Great article, the ketchup is coming out of the bottle in a rapid way, lets hope major change starts to happen. It didn't surprise me that no firm was willing to comment, they would have to draft their response and then send it through legal and compliance before being able to share it. Well trained robots.

For me, being a financial planner is about love. It is not about transferring information, but rather enabling dreams to come true. When I begin to lose myself because of unresolved pain or fears or the overpowering feelings of shame, then I no longer want to help others and I think I become irrelevant. So many professions in our society - teachers, lawyers, doctors and financial planners wrestle with shame delivered usually in the public media from outside of the industries. You might roll your eyes and think that it is easy to make jokes and insult them, but it is not fun to feel hated simply for doing work that means something to you; it can take a serious toll. www.canadianlegacybuilder.ca/why_we_need_to_stop_shaming_financial_planners